You can't plant him in your penthouse, he's going back to his plough (Image via Wikipedia)

We call songs that are a part of any serious music collection standards. Films that everyone should see are classics.

These classics and standards not only entertain us, they provide common language reference points for us. We refer to lyrics, movie lines, or even entire scenes in casual conversation. They become part of the repertoire of dialogue that we use without thought and interpret without effort.

But what happens if a person hasn’t really seen or heard one of these icons? How are they affected?

I can tell you from personal experience.

I’ve never seen The Wizard Of Oz.

A Respectful Pause

I know that there is a level of shock that occurs when I tell people that I’ve never watched the Wizard of Oz. Go on, take a moment.

Now let’s move on to the question I get from people when this matter comes up. How is it possible that someone my age, who grew up with this film on television every year of his life, has not seen this movie? Some parts I can explain, others I can’t. I remember it being on when I was a kid, but I was always doing something else. Short attention span? Could be. Truthfully, there have been times I have avoided the film for no reason other than to see how long I can survive without it.

Over the years, I have seen parts of the movie on television. I know there’s a scarecrow, a lion and a tin man. I know there are good and bad witches and a trip on a yellow brick road. I have no idea if they get what they need on the road trip. I suppose they do, but I can’t confirm that from my own knowledge.

The Consequence Of Ignorance

Like anyone who doesn’t know a language, I fill in the pieces I’m missing with the bits and pieces that I think I do know. Sometimes I get by, sometimes I don’t.

This is not my high school Italian teacher. This woman is much better looking.(Image via Wikipedia)

In high school, a girl I sat with used to sing the Wicked Witch Of The West theme whenever our Italian teacher (remember her?) walked in the room. Of course I got blamed for doing it. The teacher didn’t get agitated with me for pointing out that the voice that was singing was a girl’s and not mine. I got in trouble when the teacher asked why I would sing the Wicked Witch Theme about her and I answered “is that what it is?” She told my mother that was the moment she was sure I was lying to her.

More recently, in conversations with others, I’ve figured out things like:

Flying Monkeys aren’t just a good idea. They are also characters in the movie. In the movie, Flying Monkeys are bad. Obviously this movie is fiction.

The Lion is not brave or tough.

The reason the Wicked Witch Of The West is designated as wicked is that there is a Good Witch. The existence of a Good Witch seems counter-intuitive to me. Wicked Witch is redundant.

Usually there is some measure of embarrassment on my part when I learn these things. There is also the need for denial of the possibility that I grew up under a rock.

Will I Ever See The Movie?

I know that I will probably give in. There will be a point where I sit down with some popcorn and watch the movie. The whole movie. I don’t know when that will be.

Part of what I like about the world is that I’ve always got something to learn. I’m always eager to see something new, even if it is old. But why rush on this?

I’ve got time, and I don’t want to give up my dream of airborne simians.

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If I hadn't written this, I would use these to tell people I'd read it.

Wow. I’m absolutely stunned. I mean, I probably haven’t seen it since the early 70s, I’m not one of those who watches it regularly but….wow, not once? Huh. I’m curious, has the Omawari-son seen it? Although I’ve never done this, I’m told that if you start the movie (on mute) and Dark Side of the Moon at precisely the same time, it’s supposed to be perfect. Maybe that’s how you should have your first experience.

Oma, I accept the fact that you’ve not seen the Wizard of Oz. Will you please forgive me for not reading (or watching) anything related to Harry Potter or the 3 installments of Star Wars after the ‘original’ three Star Wars that were sequels? I could share other ‘classics’ I’ve yet to experience, but I fear the repercussions.

You’re not missing much by not seeing The Wizard of Oz. As long as you understand the references — following the yellow-brick road, paying no attention to the man behind the curtain, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” — you’re good. The movie is a technical marvel — the “Avatar” of its time — but as narrative, it’s pretty hard to sit through.

I would say I pity you, but I understand the ‘holding off” part. I have never seen Alice in Wonderland all through, and do not ever intend to. If I ever did, it would only be to please the masses. Rather like I should eat Cow Tongue to please the congregation, should I ever convert to Judiaism. Not gonna hapen, if ony to avoid cow tongue.

I support your right to ignore this movie. (but you are so missing out…maybe see it with the first grandchild who comes along?)

If the robot flew I would watch the movie every day. They insist on calling it a tin man, but it has a good shape such that it he had rockets in his feet he would fly really well. Once airborne, he could dialogue with the monkeys and form a sort of detente…

The amount of “pop wisdom” I’ve missed is even more abundant than my ignorance of classics, which is saying something.

I’ve never seen The Goonies (mention because people keep mentioning it in reference to Super 8–you included, I believe), ET, any Disney films, Dr. Seuss books, etc. My childhood wasn’t much of a childhood, so in addition to the bad stuff, I didn’t get any much good. While I was into music at a young age, I completely missed all the videos–didn’t have access. Hell, I loaded Da Da Da the other day to listen (on youtube) and it was quite interesting seeing the video for the first time of something I owned a 12″ single for in ’82. Weird stuff!

I think peoples’ connections to Seuss or those kid movies are because you saw them during a point in your life where you were safe and happy/ carefree. Seeing them now isn’t going to affect me the same way. Your warm fuzzy feelings are like when as a 40yo, you see a person you went to primary school with: you’re excited / delighted and it’s super-duper fun! That’s cos you remember your childhood friendship and the fun you had at recess.

Purely from a statistical standpoint, it’s amazing that you haven’t seen this movie. At this point, I would refuse to see it just to be contrary.
I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life and I don’t really have any desire to. There. I said it.

Oh blah. There are TONS of popular movies I have never watched. I don’t watch much movies. And my responses to public pressure in these things reminds me of something I learned in The Horse Whisperer. Apparently, horses are ‘into pressure animals’. That means they react to pressure by leaning/pushing into it. So if you want a horse to move, pushing it is the exact wrong thing to do.

Man is a social animal, and I am a social into pressure animal. When they’re pushing where I personally was not already inclined to go, I instinctively push back. My parents still have trouble with this idea. If you really just need a way not to embarrass yourself, you could cheat and read the book. You’ll get most of the facts without ever seeing the actual cult object, and nearly everyone will be fooled. I won’t tell. Promise.

Oh yeah, and I actually have seen the movie, but it took me years because I was scared witless of the monkeys. I don’t know about flying monkeys in principle, but those monkeys were bad. Definitely. Please don’t let your regime conduct that particular experiment. I’d have to move to Spain or something.

I don’t know whether to click my heels three times and go somewhere else or stay here and dredge up the dozens of Wizard of Oz references I could. The best part of that movie is when it goes from black and white to full technicolor. It’s wonderful. I do wonder if my hatred of monkeys has anything to do with that movie. Or my hatred of oil cans, red shoes, men dressed as Cossacks, and cocaine. That was cocaine falling out of the sky wasn’t it?

The cocaine explains a lot. The robot was probably the only one who still had his wits about him. Yeah, i know he was the Tin Man, but lets face it, he’s a robot. A robot who doesn’t fly or have a ray gun. Not the good kind of robot.

I tend to be pretty far behind the curve when it comes to popular culture, but even I’ve seen Wizard of Oz. Anyway, there are so many lines from WoO that are part of daily usage you can probably qualify as having see it.

I’m with you, Oma, when you say you don’t get musicals…me either! I have also resisted anything Harry Potter or Star Wars or Star Trek or Avatar, which the nerds I live with find difficult to understand! I haven’t seen Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, or GoodFellas, or Titanic either. I have, however, seen Ole Yeller and The Wizard of Oz. Ole Yeller made me cry, and The Wizard of Oz scared me, especially the flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch! The costumes were very good though, considering it was the 1930’s…except for the silver paint making the Tin Man sick…

My cool cousins had a super talented artist friend who painted that album cover life-size on the wall of their family room (at that time called a rec or rumpus room which was, of course, in the basement.) As you walked down the stairs, it was right at the bottom and it looked like 6-foot-tall Elton John was inviting you to step in with him. Just as long as you had your enormous glasses and platform shoes.

Besides the cultural references, that I am sure you are aware of and that have been mentioned in the previous comments the cinematic aspects of the film are significant. The first part of the movie takes place in “Kansas” and is filmed in black and white. When Dorothy and her wee dog Toto enter “The Land of Oz” it is filmed in colour. This would mark the first time most people saw a colour film. The were shocked, amazed and spellbound. With the advances in cinematography since then it seems extremely mundane. You just had to be there.